Combination bullet press and ammunition reloader tool



Aug.'19, 1958 Filed June 26, 1950 FILE' 5 F. T. HUNTINGTON ETALCOMBINATION BULLET PRESS AND AMMUNITION RELOADER TOOL 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Itil 5 1 22 I II' f i 56 /z ,1 Z 50 7 57 FIE I.

3lwentors FREDERICK 7." HUNTINGTON ANO A 55, M Sw/Fr Aug. 19, 1958 F. T.HUNTINGTON ET AL 2,847,895

COMBINATION BULLET PRESS AND AMMUNITION REL-QADER TOOL Fi1ed June 26,1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ALBERT 4. 81401-7- Gttornegs Aug. 19, 1958 v F.'r. HUNTIRIGTON HAL 2,847,395

COMBINATION BULLET PRESS AND AMMUNITION RELOADER 'roor. Filed June 261950 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TORS fiawEp/cKZ'Hwn/vara/v 4N0 14L BERT M.SW/FI' L 7Jv (106 M)- A 77'0P/VE Y5 19, 1958 F. 1'. HUNTINGTON ETAL ,8

COMBINATION BULLET PRESS AND AMMUNITION RELOADER TOOL Filed June 26,1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS FREDERICK 7Tfiu-nuar0zv q? Ar ana Era2,847,895 Patented Aug. 19, 1958 COMBINATION BULLET PRESS AND AMMUNITIONRELQADER TOOL Frederick T. Huntington and Albert M. Swift, Oroville,

Application June 26, 1950, Serial No. 170,304

1 Claim. (Cl. 86-23) Further objects and advantages of the inventionwill be apparent from the following description when taken 1nconjunction with the drawings forming part of this specification, and inwhich:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the combination tool of theinvention;

Figure 2 is a view in front elevation of the tool of I Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view in section taken along lines 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the tool of Figure 1, with the upperframe attachment and cartridge, as shown in dotted outline in Figures 1and 2, not being shown;

'Figure 5 is a view in side elevation of the tool showing a priming armattachment in inoperative position;

Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the nature of that of Figure 5, butshowing the priming arm attachment in operative position with respect tothe cartridge holder carried by the ram, with said holder being shown insection;

'Figure 7 is a detail view in plan, as taken along lines 7-7 of Figure6, showing the improved collet-type cartridge holder means embodied inthe tool;

Figure 8 is a view in section taken along lines 8-8 of Figure 6;

Figure 9 is a view in side elevation of the tool showing, in operativeposition, a modification of the priming arm attachment which may beembodied therein;

Figure 10 is a view similar to that of Figure 9, but showing the primingarm attachment in inoperative position; and

Figure 11 is an enlarged detail view of the primer arm of the structureof Figure 10, showingthe priming control sleeve in section.

Referring to the drawings for more specific details of the invention,the combination bullet press and reloader tool is comprised of an openended guide sleeve member 10 having slidably disposed therein a ram 12.Integral with the guide sleeve 10 at the upper end thereof is a pair ofoppositely disposed bracket arms 14 extending downwardly in spacedrelation to the guide sleeve,

and a pair of upwardly extending laterally offset frame members 16 and18 having integral therewith a frame head 20. The frame head 20 isprovided with a suitable double-threaded bore therethrough and with theappropriate fittings enabling the removable attachment thereto of avariety of fixtures, such as that indicated in dotted outline at 22,each of which is adapted for a specific function. For example, thefixture 22 may be a bullet press, a cartridge re-sizer, a bulletreloader, or a cartridge primer remover for fired primer caps. Suchfittings are adapted to be selectively interchangeable in the head 20 ina well known manner and for well known purposes, and such specificattachment members form no part of the present invention. The doublethread characteristic of the frame head 20 ensures that the fixtures,such as 22, will be positioned in perfect axial alignment with the ram12.

The frame or body of the tool comprised of elements 10, 16, 18 and 20 isprovided with mounting means for securing the tool to the surface of abench, or the like, indicated at 24 in Figure 1. The mounting means forthe frame is composed of the following elements: a plate 26 securable tothe bench surface 24,as by bolts 28; a pair of spaced bracket arms 30secured at their lower edges to plate 26, as by welding 32, andpivotally attached at their forward ends to the arms 14 of the frame bystub shafts 34; and a pair of links 36 having their lower endspivotally-secured to bracket arms 30 by bolts 38 and nuts 40, and havingtheir upper ends mutually secured to the upper end of member 16 of theframe by bolt 42 and nut 44 in threaded engagement therewith. Thetwo-point connection constituted by the pivot axes of 34 and 42 betweenthe mounting means and the frame of the tool serves to anchor the framein an upright position. It is to be pointed out here that the mountingmeans is such as to enable orientation of the frame in any desiredangular disposition with respect to the vertical. For such purpose, aplurality of sets of apertures, such as the set serving to receive thebolts 38, may be formed in the bracket arms 30 to enable selectivedisposition of the bolts 38 and therefore a selective angulardisposition of the frame of the tool, or, more properly, of the sleeve10 and ram 12 thereof. Alternatively, links 36 of various length may beemployed to selectively fix the distance between fastening elements 38and 42 and thereby control the angular disposition of the tool frame.

The operating mechanism for the ram 12 comprises a hand lever 46 havinga crank lever cross-head 48 secured thereto. One end of the cross-head48 resides within a bifurcated end portion 50 of the ram 12 and ispivotally secured thereto by pin 52, while the other end of thecross-head 48 carries an eccentric bushing 53 in sleeved relation to astub shaft 54 which is journalled within the ends of links 55. Thecross-head 48 is provided with a set screw 56 selectively engageablewith diametrically opposed recesses 57 in bushing 53. The upper ends oflinks 55 are pivotally secured to the frame between sleeve 10 anddependent arms 14 by stub shafts 34. The lower end of guide sleeve 10 isslotted at 60 and 62 to accommodate the cross-head 48 in its pivotalmovement, which movement will be hereinafter described. The links 55 area plurality of times the length of crosshead 48.

The ram 12 is provided at its upper end with a recess 64 for thereception of a cartridge holder member indicated generally at 66. A pin68 secures the cartridge holder to the ram to prevent relative axialmovement between the two. The cartridge holder shown in Figures 1-4 and910 is formed at one side with a slot 76 for a purpose hereinafterdescribed and is provided at'its upper end with an internal groove 72serving to engage the rim 74 of a cartridge case 76.

When it is desired to move the ram 12 upwardly, as for example, toresize a fired cartridge, remove a fired primer cap, or insert a bulletwithin a recharged and reprimed cartridge case, the hand lever 46 isrotated-in a clockwise direction from the position shown in Figure 1. tocause that end of the cross-head 48 pivotally con- -nected to the ram tomove upwardly while the other end of the cross-head is constrained totravel in an arcuate path about the axis of rotation constituted by stubshafts 34, with the result that ram 12 is forced upwardly and has aworking force many times multiplied over the manual force utilized torotate hand lever 46. During movement of the hand lever 46, the pivotalconnection '52 moves upwardly in a straight line, while the pivotalconnection defined by elements 56moves downwardly and laterally in anarcuate path. The cross-head 48, therefore, has both a rotative androcking movement, and in this manner the manual force applied to handlelever 46 is multiplied and transmitted to ram 12 most efficientlythroughout the period of movement of the hand level. For any givenmanual force applied to hand lever 46, the resultant ram or workingforce obtained in the tool is considerably higher than the ram forceobtainable in hitherto known tools of this type, and this is due to thelever linkage system utilized to actuate the ram 12. It is also to bepointed out that when the eccentric bushing 53 is in the position ofFigures 1 and 3, that is, when the stub shaft 54 is farthest removedfrom the handle side of the cross-head 48, the tool is set for a greaterram travel and a lesser leverage force than is the case when the bushingis offset 180 from said position, as by loosening set screw 56, rotatingthe bushing, and engaging the set screw with the other recess 57. Thefirst position of the bushing, i. e., that where there is a greater ramtravel and lesser leverage is to be preferred when the tool is beingused for cartridge reloading, while the second position is to bepreferred when the tool is used for bullet making.

The specific embodiment of the tool of the invention, as abovedescribed, is shown in Figures 9-11 as being further provided with apriming arm indicated generally at 78. The arm 78 is pivotally securedto frame arm or element 18 at 80, and, due to the fact that frame arm 18is laterally offset with respect to the longitudinal axis of sleeve .10,as indicated in Figure 2, arm 78 is in alignment with slot 70 formed inthe cartridge holder 66. Arm 78 is provided at its upper end with aninternal passageway 82 in which there is disposed a verticallyadjustable pin 84 having an enlarged head 86 residing within the upperend of a counter-bored cylindrical sheath 88 sleeved on pin 84. Spring90 yieldingly urges sheath 88 against the under side of head 86, whileset screw 91 serves to secure pin 84 in the desired position of verticaladjustment. Arm 78 is provided with a stop member 92 adapted to abut thesleeve when arm 78 is in the inoperative position shown in Figure 10,and the arm is further provided with a positioning member or rest in theform 'of extension 94 adapted to be engaged with the upper surface ofsleeve 10 when arm 78 is in the operative position shown in Figure 9.Priming arm rest 94 serves to position the arm 78 with respect to thetool so that cup 88 is axially aligned with the primer cap aperture of acartridge case carried by cartridge holder 66.

The priming arm 78 is, of course, utilized to insert a new primer capwithin a fired cartridge case after the fired primer cap has beenremoved therefrom. To accomplish the repriming of a cartridge case, aprimer cap is inserted within cup 88 and supported therein by head 86 ofpin 84. When the ram 12 has been moved to its uppermost position, thepriming arm 78 is moved from the position shown in Figure 10 to thatshown in Figure 9 after pin 84 has been vertically adjusted to thedesired position corresponding to the depth of insertion desired for theprimer cap with respect to the cartridge case. For example, if it isdesired that the outer surface of the primer cap be flush with theadjacent surface of the end of the cartridge case when the primer cap issecured thereto, the pin 84 will be so pre-set that the distance throughwhich the sheath 88 may be moved downwardly with respect to pin 84 intoengagement with arm 78 will be just suficient to bring the upper edge ofthe sheath 88 into alignment with the upper surface of the head 86 ofpin 84. The positional adjustability of pin 84 thus enables any desireddepth of insertion of the primer cap into the cartridge case, and anyspecific calculation and consequent setting of pin 84 for this purposeis made with reference to the bottom surface of the positioned cartridgecase and not to the position 'of the ram. The actual insertion of theprimer cap into the cartridge case aperture occurs, after movement ofarm 78 to position of Figure 9, upon consequent downward movement of ram12 to move the cartridge holder 66 and cartridge case carried therebydownwardly to a sufficient degree to move sheath 88 away from head 86 ofpin-84 to disclose the primer cap carried thereon, and it will beparticularly noted that the depth of insertion of the primer cap intothe case is made dependent upon the positioning of pin 84, and hence isnot dependent upon careful gauging of the appropriate degree of downwardmovement of the ram for this purpose, as would be the case in the eventthat pin 84 were not vertically adjustable.

A preferred embodiment of the complete tool of the invention is shown inFigures 5-8, whereina modified form of the cartridge holder and amodified form of the priming arm as shown. The cartridge holder,indicated generally at 166, is of the collet or chuck type and issecured to the ram 12 by pin 168. The holder 166 is formed so that theupper portion thereof is constituted by a plurality of verticallyextending and circumferentially spaced segments 170 having upper or jawportions 172, each of which is provided with an arcuate slot 174 at itsinner face. The slots 174 in combination serve as the locking groove forthe rim or flange 74 of cartridge case 76. The external surfaces of jaws172 are inwardly tapered in an upward direction, and a jaw-actuatingring 178 having an internal surface 180 complementary to the externalsurfaces of jaws 172 is located in sleeved relation to the jaws. It willbe understood that the jaws 172 are brought together in grippingrelation with respect to the flange 74 of cartridge case 76 by urgingram 12 upwardly while manually holding locking ring 178 against movementalong with the cartridge holder 166. Movement of the cartridge holderupwardly with respect to the locking ring for a predetermined distancecauses the rim 74 of the cartridge case to be lockingly engaged withinslots 174 of jaws 172. Reversely, downward movement of cartridge holder166 with respect to locking ring 178 serves'to release the jaws 172 forflexure outwardly out of gripping engagement with the cartridge caserim.

Due to the fact that the collet type cartridge holder 166 is operable bymovement of its segments with .respect to the cartridge case, it will bereadily understood that a single cartridge holder may be used withcartridge cases of various calibres.

With respect to the modified form of the priming arm, this arm,indicated generally at 190, is adapted to be brought into operativeposition by a sliding movement, rather than a pivotal movement, as wasthe case with the previously described modification of the priming arm.The arm is slotted at 192 to form spaced parallel portions 194 and 196which are slidably mounted, respectively, in slots 198 and 280 locatedin the rearward face of guide disc 202 secured to frame arm 18 by bolt26M extending through slot 192 of the priming arm. As in the case of thepreviously described modification of the priming arm, the arm 198 isprovided at its forward end with a pin 286 having a head 208, and asheath 210 having its upper portion in sleeved relation to head 208 andits lower portion in sleeved relation to a portion of spring 212. Thepin 206 is in threaded engagement with arm 190, thereby'enablingvertical adjustment of the pin to control the depth of seating of aprimer cap 214 in cartridge case 76, as above described in connectionwith the modification of the priming arm shown in Figures 9-11. In orderto vertically adjust the pin 206, means, not shown, in the form of apair of diametrically opposed apertures in the upper end of sheath 210and a diametral pin bore through head 288 may be provided,

whereby a wire may be inserted through said apertures and pin bore toturn pin 206 in threaded engagement with arm 190 and thereby verticallyadjust said pin.

When ram 12 has been moved upwardly to a suflicient extent so that jaws172 of the cartridge holder 166 are located above the upper edge ofsheath 210, arm-190 may be slidably moved inwardly so that its forwardend and the elements carried thereby pass between two of the segments170 of the holder. Movement of the ram 12 downwardly thereupon seats thesheath 210 between the holder jaws 172, thus retaining arm 190 inpriming position against the action of fiat spring 216 carried by arm190 in engagement with the frame of the tool. After the primingoperation, upward movement of the cartridge holder a predetermineddegree will free the priming arm 190 for return to its inoperativeposition of Figure 5 under the action of spring 216.

While specific embodiments of the combination tool of the invention havebeen shown and described, it is to be understood that all substantiallyequivalents of said embodiments are within the scope of the invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A device of the class described having a frame comprised of a guidesleeve, a ram slidably disposed therein, and means for moving said ramwithin said guide sleeve comprising a link having one end thereofpivotally connected to the lower end of said ram, a swingable armpivotally connected at its upper end to said sleeve a substantialdistance above and in alignment with the pivotal point of connectionbetween said ram and link, said arm having its lower end pivotallyconnected to the other end of said link, said arm being angularlydisposed laterally from said sleeve and said link being disposedangularly upwardly and outwardly from its point of connection with theram when said ram is at the bottom of its stroke, and said link and armbeing so disposed that the pivot point between the link and arm issubstantially in alignment with the axis of the ram when the ram is atthe top of its stroke, and a handle lever secured to said link to movethe same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS270,288 Dickerman Jan. 9, 1883 274,618 Lorenz Mar. 27, 1883 1,550,284Schmitt Aug. 18, 1925 1,642,344 Spencer Sept. 13, 1927 1,718,107 BondJune 18, 1929 1,864,880 Zimmerman June 28, 1932 1,979,603 Bosler Nov. 6,1934 2,091,397 Shockey Aug. 31, 1937 2,133,198 Jayne Oct. 11, 19382,136,459 ONeil Nov. 15,1938 2,304,806 DiCosmo Dec. 15, 1942 2,521,842Foster Sept. 12, 1950 2,552,772 Fasig May 15, 1951

